Taki Udon is one of the leading figures in the world of FPGA gaming, and he's achieved that position in a surprisingly rapid time. The reason? His MiSTer Pi project has shaken up the FPGA world by offering a truly affordable entry point for players, and his next project – which comes as part of his Retro Remakes line – could have even more impact.
Taki Udon is set to launch an FPGA console based on the PS1. While it will remain fully compatible with FPGA cores for other systems, the focus here will be offering a fresh take on Sony's classic system, and it will be compatible with PS1 controllers, memory cards and (via an optional dock) discs.
As always, we were keen to learn more about the system (known by its codenames SSone and R2one), and Taki Udon was kind enough to provide us with the information.
Time Extension: What made you choose the PlayStation as your first "console clone" release under the Retro Remakes brand?
Taki Udon: SSone (also known as R2one) was supposed to be our second console. We started with the most complicated console first (our flagship console), but that ended up stalling everything else in the pipeline, so we moved up our second release. As for why the PSone? This product was originally supposed to be created in 2022 with my previous company, but it didn’t end up happening. It was the first console I knew I would make with RR.
Can you give us some insight into what makes this such a different prospect from, say, the MiSTer Pi or MiSter?
The goal of this console was to remove as many barriers to entry as possible when it comes to using MiSTer FPGA. We do this to some extent with our MiSTER Pi Turbo Pack, but this console incorporates many things that are not possible with the standard triple stack. These are things like various analog video outputs without the need for a dongle, integrated WiFi/BT without a dongle, integrated SNAC ports without a dongle, and so on. There are still things that a MiSTER Pi can do that the console can’t (like Jamma support), but this should be more than enough for the general user.
You've put a lot of effort into making sure the SSone is compatible with original PS1 accessories, controllers, and memory cards. What was the hardest thing to get right?
For some accessories or controllers, it has been very challenging to track down parts that we need to verify functionality. A few weeks ago, I was trying to buy a PS1 mouse to make sure it didn’t have any issues. There was only a single one on the market in all of China.
Will the SSone use the exact same UI as the MiSTer, or are you creating something different, given the PS1 focus?
This comes down to user choice since the hardware is designed to work as is with official MiSTer FPGA software. It’s also a difficult topic to talk about because a lot of people feel very strongly about not making modifications to the MiSTer UI, which I totally understand. I do not want to be in a situation where we end up forking the community (this is the main reason why MiSTER Pi was our first FPGA product and not a console), but there are some situations or some specific cores where that may be unavoidable if the changes aren’t accepted upstream. Personally, I think an alternative UI option should exist for those who want it. If people want us to do it, then we will.
How will original media work on the SSone?
I’ll answer this question more broadly because this is not the only console that we have in development that supports original media. Since we can’t work on the assumption that the end-user will always use the specific version of the software that we may or may not create to support features that don’t exist in the MiSTer ecosystem, we start from the point of how we can accomplish what we need on existing cores. For cartridge-based systems that have built-in saving functionality, you wouldn’t be able to do more than dump your carts and run them off memory without significant hardware changes. It’s possible to have your save files sent directly to the dumped cartridge, but the process is somewhat convoluted. So without forking the core and making significant changes, cartridge support will be far worse than an actual console, even if it might be enough for most people.
PS1 is a bit different. Thankfully, saving games is split from the media, and our SNAC ports give us the direct ability to load and save games without needing to use cartridge-based workarounds. That just leaves you with how to handle the CD itself. On a stock core with a stock system, it is possible to store your games on an internal SSD via a simple process. Whenever you use that CD in the future, the stock system will call the stored backup and load the game without you needing to do anything.
In both console situations, software revisions (in some cases substantial) are required to make the experience more authentic to real hardware. The changes that we have to make are almost certainly not going to be accepted by the main branch, but it’s unavoidable. We at least have workarounds for an end-user who wants to stay on stock MiSTer software.
Could we see other Retro Remake projects that replicate systems like the Saturn and N64 in the future in the same way the SSone does with PlayStation?
Yes, this is possible, but it would have to come after our cartridge-based system is done. That one is a bit older than those two.
The SSone is naturally going to be compared with some of Analogue's products, which also use FPGA tech and are clones of existing classic systems. How do you feel the SSone shapes up against those devices, and is it even fair to compare them?
I don’t think it’s a fair comparison. Except for the Pocket, Analogue sells closed-source consoles that do one thing, even if the hardware can support more. All of our consoles and handhelds can run multiple cores from day one, with support for loading ROMs from an SD card without having to wait for a jailbreak. We also have built-in analog output, which is notably absent from other consoles.
Projects like the SSone represent a big step up for you as a manufacturer, requiring not only an understanding of internal hardware development but also external case design and packaging. How has your company evolved over the past year or so to accommodate these fresh challenges?
This console is a step up from MiSTER Pi, but it is simple compared to the flagship console. That thing is incredibly complicated. For SSone, we have three mechanical engineers working on the console and the dock. We will probably hire more to work on our expanded roadmap.
Where do you see Retro Remakes in, say, five years?
That’s kind of difficult to say. If you asked me where I would be now last summer, I would have been completely wrong. Wherever the company is, I hope I’m having fun.
You've never made any secret of the fact you're working on more than one thing at any given time. Are you able to give us any hints on what your next project will be?
After SSone is done, we will move to the MiSTer handheld, however, it is possible that the flagship console will wrap up development between the two projects since it started first. That’s it for the FPGA product line. SUPER7 is our next DIY product, which is a 7-inch screen and shell replacement for the original Switch.